Dam spillway fishing

[hahmmo]

Hi members!

 

I am trying to fish a dam spillway with heavy current (raystown dam in PA). I heard there are striped bass, walleye among others. 

 

I have fished dam spillway before, but couldnt get enough casting distance despite fairly narrow size of spillway and got snagged a lot. 

 

I am thinking about float rig with jig, but looking for more specific insights on lure weight, float size, and rod/reel. Will surf rod work??

 

Appreciate any input!!

[Finessegenics]

Before branching out and becoming a "bass fisherman", I fished a spillway basically every single time I went fishing. I know that place like the back of my hand. I caught so many walleye, sauger, smallies, sheepshead and so on. Still go there from time to time, but much further downstream.

 

I suggest a longer rod, not necessarily a surf rod though. See if you can find a 7'3-7'6 medium spinning rod. I'd say spinning because it'll be much much easier to cast the light jig heads out there. I feel like a float kinda ruins the presentation of the curly tail grub/tiny swimbait (thats what I assume youre using if you're after walleye). The only thing that's unfortunate is that  the snags are unavoidable. Do the best you can by keeping your rod tip high to avoid snags, and just get a steady retrieve going. The 7'6 rod also helps here because it'll keep the bait off the bottom easier, even though the bottom is where we want it... I personally liked 1/8-1/4 oz jigheads but you must determine the weight on your own based on the depth, current, rod length and so on. Hope this helped and let me know how it goes!

[hahmmo]

9 hours ago, Finessegenics said:

Before branching out and becoming a "bass fisherman", I fished a spillway basically every single time I went fishing. I know that place like the back of my hand. I caught so many walleye, sauger, smallies, sheepshead and so on. Still go there from time to time, but much further downstream.

 

I suggest a longer rod, not necessarily a surf rod though. See if you can find a 7'3-7'6 medium spinning rod. I'd say spinning because it'll be much much easier to cast the light jig heads out there. I feel like a float kinda ruins the presentation of the curly tail grub/tiny swimbait (thats what I assume youre using if you're after walleye). The only thing that's unfortunate is that  the snags are unavoidable. Do the best you can by keeping your rod tip high to avoid snags, and just get a steady retrieve going. The 7'6 rod also helps here because it'll keep the bait off the bottom easier, even though the bottom is where we want it... I personally liked 1/8-1/4 oz jigheads but you must determine the weight on your own based on the depth, current, rod length and so on. Hope this helped and let me know how it goes!

 

Thank you so much for detailed insight!! Now I know where to start without having constant doubt about my rig:) 

 

Do you mind asking where do you go in downstream? The river is so wide and inaccessible except picnic area and campground, I am wondering if you need a kayak or boat. I even looked for a guide to learn the area,  but all guides go to main lake rather than river..

[Finessegenics]

1 hour ago, hahmmo said:

 

Thank you so much for detailed insight!! Now I know where to start without having constant doubt about my rig:) 

 

Do you mind asking where do you go in downstream? The river is so wide and inaccessible except picnic area and campground, I am wondering if you need a kayak or boat. I even looked for a guide to learn the area,  but all guides go to main lake rather than river..

Luckily for me, the shore along the dam is accessible for a good 3/4 of a mile. I would walk until I found some slack water pools, where the current breaks and it creates a tiny pool/bay. Some of these pools are no deeper than 3-4 feet and some are only about 10-15 feet across, but there always seems to be a fish or two in them. I usually use a weightless Texas rig to get the bass in there. I’m not sure if you have the same, but that’s the areas I look for along a river with heavy current. Research your area and look on google earth for any other spots along the river that are accessible by foot. Any slow pool next to current along that river should be a great place, as the water is always oxygenated, even during the dog days of summer. 

[lo n slo]

On 2/11/2020 at 9:52 PM, Finessegenics said:

Before branching out and becoming a "bass fisherman", I fished a spillway

when i was in my early teens me and a friend would get his mom to take us up to the State Park on Lake Norman....and leave us there all day. we’d walk the trails and fish from the banks. in early April they’d close the gates at the spillway and allow the water in Hicks Creek to back up at the swimming area. when that water flowed over the top we’d cast Little Cleo silver spoons across the froth at the bottom and wear out the white bass. that was nearly 50 years ago and those memories still hold true to this day.

[Finessegenics]

47 minutes ago, lo n slo said:

when i was in my early teens me and a friend would get his mom to take us up to the State Park on Lake Norman....and leave us there all day. we’d walk the trails and fish from the banks. in early April they’d close the gates at the spillway and allow the water in Hicks Creek to back up at the swimming area. when that water flowed over the top we’d cast Little Cleo silver spoons across the froth at the bottom and wear out the white bass. that was nearly 50 years ago and those memories still hold true to this day.

That sounds beautiful. I miss the days when fishing was that simple. It was only a few years ago and I'm still a young man so I have plenty memories to make. I choose to make it complicated now though ?. All I'd pack back then were grubs, inline spinners, split shot weights, hooks and nightcrawlers.